3 observations after Sixers’ early-season misery deepens in loss to Clippers originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers’ early-season misery deepened Wednesday night.
They suffered a 110-98 loss to the Clippers at Intuit Dome, dropping to 1-6 through seven games, and Tyrese Maxey was ruled out early in the fourth quarter with right hamstring soreness.
The Sixers, Bucks and Jazz are now tied for the NBA’s worst record.
Norman Powell posted a game-high 26 points on 8-for-10 shooting and six assists. James Harden added 18 points and six assists.
In his first game against the Clippers since deciding to leave Los Angeles this summer and join the Sixers, Paul George had 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting and seven rebounds.
Joel Embiid served the first game of his three-game suspension for shoving Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes. Since the start of last season, the Sixers have gone 17-33 without Embiid.
The Sixers will complete their three-game West Coast trip Friday night against the Lakers. Here are observations on the team’s defeat Wednesday:
Woeful offense
George sunk his first two shots of the night, both from long range. He earned the first by grabbing an offensive rebound off a missed Caleb Martin free throw and nailed the second as the shot clock wound down.
George also hit his only two jumper attempts of the second quarter. It was not surprising that he had a far more efficient outing than his 4-for-14 Sixers debut Monday in a loss to the Suns.
In his second game back from a left knee bone bruise, George again did not play extended stints. As soon as he sat, Maxey dialed up the aggression. The Sixers very much wanted Harden switched on Maxey, a player he once showed many tricks of the trade. Maxey nailed a step-back jumper over Harden and darted to the rim for an and-one layup.
While Maxey and George’s talents shined in the first half, the Sixers’ offense was not at all exemplary. They had heaps of sloppy, out-of-sync turnovers — 10 in the first 15 minutes — and their half-court possessions often became stagnant and isolation-heavy. The Clippers held an 18-4 halftime advantage in points off turnovers.
The Sixers’ 52.5 assist percentage this season is the lowest in the NBA. They were under 50 percent Wednesday with 19 assists on 40 made field goals.
Other than George being back on the court and Embiid’s expected season debut on the horizon (Nov. 12 vs. the Knicks), there’s almost nothing positive about the state of the Sixers’ offense.
Not much second-unit scoring pop this time
Harden and the Clippers asked Andre Drummond to defend plenty of pick-and-rolls in drop coverage. Martin did well individually on Harden, who started 2 for 11 from the field. Martin generally picked the right spots to be physical and the right spots to be satisfied with solid defense.
After subpar games in his last couple of outings, Drummond (nine points, 10 rebounds) was better in Los Angeles. Following a 15-minute night on Monday, Drummond logged 32 minutes against the Clippers. The evening included his first regular-season three since the 2019-20 season.
Off the bench, the Sixers didn’t receive close the same scoring jolt that they’d gotten against the Suns.
Veteran guards Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon combined for one point on 0-for-5 shooting in 37 total minutes. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse played Guerschon Yabusele just 10 minutes the game after his excellent 19-point performance in Phoenix. Though KJ Martin had a bright first-half stint that featured two fast-break dunks, it was odd to see Yabusele used exclusively at center and have his playing time dip to that extent.
Nightmare second half
The Clippers were decisively superior to open the third quarter. Nurse called timeout less than three minutes into the third after a Terance Mann layup in transition.
Maxey went scoreless in the third quarter and the Sixers shot 0 for 8 from three-point range in the period. With his early exit, Maxey played 10 fewer minutes than his NBA-leading average of 41 entering the game.
Nurse told reporters in Los Angeles that the decision to take Maxey out was precautionary.
The Clippers’ lead ballooned in the third quarter once Harden found his groove. And when the Sixers blitzed Harden on L.A.’s final possession of the third, the Clippers got the ball to Kris Dunn in the corner and he drove in for a dunk. The Sixers began the third quarter tied and ended it down 16 points.
Jared McCain played the entire fourth quarter and every available Sixer saw the floor Wednesday night. They’re still searching for a second win and have two more games to manage without their superstar big man.
